Phoenix-area man dies before he can receive transplant

A Goodyear man who made national headlines in his fight to get lifesaving leukemia treatment has died.

Mark Price, 38, died Sunday at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center of complications from chemotherapy, said his brother, Tim Bastedo, of Idaho. He said Price was married and the couple has six children.

"He fought all the way to the end," Bastedo said. "The amount of chemo they had to give him to try to kill it all was just too much."

Price's case drew national attention after the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System declined to pay for a bone-marrow transplant as part of his treatment. It ignited a debate over government budgets and medical coverage that flared again Monday when news of Price's death spread.

But Banner Health said the death was not related to insurance. They said it was because of the recurrence of his leukemia and its complications. An anonymous donor was waiting in the wings to pay for the transplant when Price was ready for it.
Price's leukemia had to be under control before the transplant could happen, said Dr. Jeffrey Schriber, a Banner transplant specialist who was treating Price. That's why Price was undergoing the chemotherapy. Schriber said Price's transplant team was "ready to jump" into the transplant but had to step back until the chemotherapy was done.

"Everyone was devastated at the news," Schriber said. "But it's not related to the AHCCCS cuts."

The health plan - Arizona's Medicaid program - is designed as a safety net for low-income patients. Budget cuts eliminated some procedures from AHCCCS coverage, including the transplant that Price needed, which was estimated to cost $250,000. AHCCCS did cover other treatment costs.

The anonymous donor stepped forward in October and pledged to cover the cost of the transplant after Price's story went national. Bastedo said the family wasn't upset about the health coverage and that his brother just couldn't shake the leukemia well enough for the transplant.

"He still needed to be clean," Bastedo said. "His transplant was paid for."

Arizona House Democrats fired a shot Monday at Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and legislative Republicans over AHCCCS funding after Price's death became known. They called on Republicans to "fix their admitted mistake on transplants before another Arizonan dies."

The statement quoted Rep. Anna Tovar, D-Tolleson, a leukemia survivor who had a bone-marrow transplant. She said there are nearly 100 more families in the state "facing Brewercare death panels" unless transplant funding is restored. Democrats say Brewer can use federal stimulus money to fill the funding gap.

Schriber hopes "something positive" happens at the Capitol with transplant funding. "There will be other Mark Prices," he said.

Brewer called Price's death a tragedy. "My heart goes out to his family and certainly his . . . children," Brewer said.

But she was unapologetic about the state's decision to end funding for transplant services such as the one that Price required.

"The state only has so much money and we can only provide so many types of care," Brewer told reporters Monday after attending the canvass of this fall's election.

Brewer also said the stimulus money has been spoken for.

"My federal stimulus money has already been accounted for and designated in different areas," she said.

Her office has not yet responded to a public-records request filed by The Arizona Republic seeking an accounting of those dollars.

Arizona's health-care coverage for lower-income residents is a Cadillac model compared with other states, Brewer said. In an attempt to balance the budget, the Legislature this spring cut funding for optional services under AHCCCS.

A fund to pay funeral expenses has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank in Price's name.